Gang
leaders do have a special status in prison because
of their power and these guys are part of one of
the biggest gangs in the world,
Mossad.-- Professor Greg
Newbold

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website]

Auckland, New Zealand, Tuesday, August 10,
2004[Write to the NZ Herald's Editor:
]

Gang
leaders defer to jailed Israelis says paper

By BRIDGET CARTER

THE two men at the centre of the
Israeli spy scandal are being given "unbelievable
respect" in prison and gang leaders defer to them,
the Jerusalem Post has reported. Eli
Cara, 50, and Uriel Kelman are serving
their six-month jail terms in Auckland's Mt Eden
Prison for attempting to fraudulently obtain a New
Zealand passport.

The
Post reported being told by a senior New
Zealand source that the two men were sharing a
cell, with a television and stereo system. Both
were regular users of the prison library. He said
they were both fine and comfortable, mixed freely
within the jail and appeared to enjoy a special
status among prisoners, who included some of the
toughest gang members.

The source said the gang leaders were at the top
of the prison hierarchy, but that they deferred to
the Israelis. "I don't know whether it's their
religion or who they are, but the Israelis are
given unbelievable respect by other prisoners." A
Corrections spokesman confirmed that access to
television, stereo and library was not unusual.
However, she would not comment on the prisoners'
wellbeing and contact with other inmates.

A Canterbury University criminologist, Associate
Professor Greg Newbold, said he expected the
reports to be accurate. Gang leaders would see the
pair as terrorists and therefore as people of power
and mystery. "Gang
leaders do have a special status in prison because
of their power and these guys are part of one of
the biggest gangs in the world, Mossad."

Professor Newbold said it would be the same as
for those convicted of the Rainbow Warrior
bombing in the 1980s or if these men were part of
an organisation like the IRA.

Cara and Kelman admitted their role in
attempting to obtain a false passport for a third
man, former Israeli Zev William Barkan,
[Mossad hit man,
right] but have appealed against
their convictions. Barkan left the country in March
and is wanted by police.

Israel, Tuesday, August 10, 2004

Explanations for
New Zealand

THE failures of the
Mossad,
Israel's intelligence agency, are more likely to
result in international scandal than those of any
other Israeli intelligence- gathering organization.
Its activities take place on the borderline of what
is permissible and involves risk taking.

Those working
for the Mossad know this well and are compensated
accordingly. The Mossad knows to take care of its
people who are caught in a bind. Elisha Cara
and Uriel Kelman, sentenced by a New Zealand
court on Thursday to six months in prison and
monetary fines, enjoy the full backing they deserve
from their employer, as agents of the State of
Israel.

During its 53 years of existence, the Mossad has
made use of intrigue -- successfully in most cases,
and elevated to an art form in more than one case.
This has all changed since 9/11. Precisely because
of the international war on terrorism, New Zealand
may have been able to show an understanding of the
motives for the operation carried out on its soil
by the Mossad agents, who did not intend to target
its government or nation.

The attacks in the United States and concerns
over terrorist activities have intensified the
vigilance in many countries, and have sharpened the
sensitivities over actions that undermine
sovereignty and seek to fool the state authorities.
In the past, governments tended to forgive Israel
over illegal actions of its Mossad agents, did not
seek severe sentences and reached secret deals that
prevented embarrassing publicity. It seems that
that age is over.

A
series of failed operations since 1997 -- in
Jordan, Switzerland, Cyprus, and now in New Zealand
-- suggest the leadership of the Mossad is finding
it difficult to adopt the lessons of the failures
and their approach is that of Israeli arrogance.
The failures in friendly countries, which follow
earlier serious mishaps, in the United States
(Jonathan
Pollard), Britain and Cyprus, cause serious
damage to the foreign relations of Israel, its
reputation, and the operational capabilities of
Israel's intelligence agencies. They also suggest
structural and operational flaws, and problematic
decision making on the part of agency directors. It
is therefore appropriate that public overseeing of
the organization become tighter.

But the problem is not only the Mossad. The
responsibility is of the prime minister and the
political echelon that do not appear to have made
it clear to the organization's leaders that the
national security is not merely the collection of
information or an assassination, but also foreign
relations, especially with friends, and concerns
for the safety of Jewish communities abroad.

One
can only assume that the desecration of tombs at
the Jewish cemetery in Wellington was not taken
into account by the operation's
planners.

The
incompetence exhibited in this case by the
government of Israel is incomprehensible. The head
of the Mossad, Meir Dagan, right, asked --
and the prime minister authorized -- that the
Foreign Ministry remain uninvolved in the affair
and it was forbidden to take action, even behind
the scenes. The mistaken evaluation held that
ambiguity and silence would result in a slipping of
the affair from the daily agenda.

It is possible that if Israel had immediately
offered its apologies, the crisis would have been
avoided and Israel would not have been labeled a
treacherous country that patronizes friendly and
far- removed countries. In order to contain the
damage that has been caused, it would be
appropriate for the government to hurry and
apologize and provide the explanations that the
government of New Zealand is demanding.